In recent years, as a new transportation mode other than buses and railways, a vehicle with running wheels composed of rubber tires that is designed to travel along a center guide rail has been known.
A branching device of a track-based transportation system equipped with the center guide rail, that is, a new center guide-type transportation system includes, for example, the device disclosed in Patent Document 1 shown below.
This branching device is provided with a movable traveling lane, a movable rail and a switching mechanism. The movable traveling lane is installed at a branching section which is a part where a main line intersects with a branch line and supported so as to move rotationally around a turning point. The movable rail is disposed at the center of the movable traveling lane. The switching mechanism allows the movable traveling lane and the movable rail to move in an integrated manner.
This switching mechanism allows the movable traveling lane and the movable rail to move in an integrated manner between a position at which the movable traveling lane and the movable rail are brought to a direction along the main line and a position at which the traveling lane and the center guide rail are brought to a direction along the branch line.